England boss Gareth Southgate has warned fans that they must open their eyes to Mason Mount’s talent and forget about his relationship with former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
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Mount received unjustified scrutiny during Lampard’s time at Stamford Bridge, with many fans – Chelsea and others – believing that the 22-year-old was not good enough to play at the highest level and even called him a “teacher’s pet”.
Lampard was ridiculed for defending Mount | Robin Jones / Getty Images
However, Lampard’s replacement, Thomas Tuchel, has been just as happy to use Mount, and Southgate admitted after the midfield goal against Albania on Sunday that it should be impossible to ignore Mount’s talent now.
“He’s a very good player but I said this is in the fall,” said Southgate. “Now Thomas Tuchel chooses him, everyone will probably agree. But when it was Frank, it did not count for any reason.
“[Mason] is an exceptional player. He finds space intelligently, he manipulates the ball very well, he can create chances, he can score goals. I thought his performance was excellent but I thought Phil [Foden] was also very good. Our attacking four were good. ”
Southgate is a big fan of Mount | Pool / Getty Images
Southgate have always defended Mount, although some fans in England chose to hug him for last season, and he admitted that the 22-year-old is slowly becoming one of the players he simply cannot afford to rotate.
Asked if Mount could start against Poland on Wednesday, Southgate replied: “Absolutely. We have matched all the players in the first game. [against San Marino]. His cargo enters the camp [was low]. He did not play in the middle of the week in the Champions League but, regardless, we try to win and qualify for a World Cup. I can not constantly think of rotating the squad.
“We have a lot of players who are missing and we have tried to protect our forwards through the first part of the week, and now we just have to go ahead and try to win the matches.”
? @ MasonMount_10 appreciation post. ? #ITVFotboll | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/5F53HT2bbR
– ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 28, 2021
Sunday night was a big one for Mount, but it was a day to remember for winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, who was ruled out of England during a 21-year 2-0 loss to Portugal with a shoulder injury.
Fortunately, the 20-year-old injury is not considered too serious and he is in line to return to Aidy Boothroyd’s squad for Wednesday’s meeting with Croatia.
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